Spud gun Lead Boolit

[greenbud]

I have found on youtube people that have made flat head slugs. But has anyone to your knowledge made a true casted boolit. What do you think it would take to do this and make it work right?

[greenbud]

???What no ideas at all ????

[Elkins45]

Are you asking about how to cast a lead bullet to shoot out of a PVC potato cannon?. I think that's about the equivalent of asking what's the best lube to use for inserting firecrackers into your anus. :(

Assuming a 2" bore a slug with anything close to a reasonable shape is going to weight close to a pound at least. The gas volume and velocity needed to accelerate a object with that much inertia is surely enough to reduce a potato gun to a cloud of jagged PVC shards.

I don't even know if hair spray could do more than just make it barely ploop out the barrel. Think how much black powder is needed to propel a cannon ball at a reasonable velocity. If you did manage to discover a propellant with enough force the barrel surely couldn't withstand it, leading to the fragmentation cloud described above.

I think this is an idea best left on the drawing board.

[greenbud]

actually I was planning to make the cannon as others have out of steal pipe and fittings. here is a youtube like to a guy that shot a 1.75 pound slug.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqrQel53QZo
Has it been done befor safely yes
The thing is I can find nothing on long distance shots done this way

[ku4hx]

are you asking about how to cast a lead bullet to shoot out of a pvc potato cannon?. I think that's about the equivalent of asking what's the best lube to use for inserting firecrackers into your anus. :(

assuming a 2" bore a slug with anything close to a reasonable shape is going to weight close to a pound at least. The gas volume and velocity needed to accelerate a object with that much inertia is surely enough to reduce a potato gun to a cloud of jagged pvc shards.

I don't even know if hair spray could do more than just make it barely ploop out the barrel. Think how much black powder is needed to propel a cannon ball at a reasonable velocity. If you did manage to discover a propellant with enough force the barrel surely couldn't withstand it, leading to the fragmentation cloud described above.

I think this is an idea best left on the drawing board.

+1 ... sounds like #1001

[2muchstuf]

Just doesn't seem like something I 'd be interested in trying.

Let's see some math for 1.75 lb. and pressure = velocity.

2

[Elkins45]

actually I was planning to make the cannon as others have out of steal pipe and fittings. here is a youtube like to a guy that shot a 1.75 pound slug.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqrQel53QZo
Has it been done befor safely yes
The thing is I can find nothing on long distance shots done this way

I watched some of his other videos. I'm not certain how that gun escapes being classified as a destructive device by the ATF other than perhaps because it's a smoothbore. I don't think it was made from simple plumbing pipe from the hardware store either. Those fittings look like they were machined for that specific purpose. I still wouldn't want to be standing anywhere nearby when it gets fired.

Looks like he makes his slugs by pouring them into a section of barrel tubing. To answer your question: anybody with the skill and access to tools needed to make a custom manufactured cannon could also make a very big conventional bullet mold.

If I were to make giant lead projectiles at home--and I'm not because shooting them in a device cobbled together from plumbing pipe is a great way to kill yourself--I would turn a round to the desired size and shape from wood and then use it to shape disposable molds from plaster of paris. But that will never happen because I enjoy having both vision and hands.

Sorry if I sound like an old buzzkill who's lecturing you....but I guess that's what I am. :)

[greenbud]

[QUOTE=Elkins45;1664897]
Looks like he makes his slugs by pouring them into a section of barrel tubing. To answer your question: anybody with the skill and access to tools needed to make a custom manufactured cannon could also make a very big conventional bullet mold.

If I were to make giant lead projectiles at home--and I'm not because shooting them in a device cobbled together from plumbing pipe is a great way to kill yourself--I would turn a round to the desired size and shape from wood and then use it to shape disposable molds from plaster of paris. But that will never happen because I enjoy having both vision and hands.
QUOTE]

plaster of paris? intoresting great idea would that really take the heat of the lead?

Also my friends and I got talking and we think the best boolit desighn would be to modle it after a .177 Hunting pellet. you could take a pictur from the side then scale it up to fit the barrel size.

I was also debating after seeing a few more of the videos of building a chamber blast test. a chamber thats capped off on both ends to simulate a jam and see if it survives.

[MtGun44]

Consider whether you are making a cannon or a pipe bomb.

Without an engineering degree or similar skills, the possibilities for mayhem
are high.

Bill

[Jeffrey]

Here... Hold mah beer... Watch this...

[greenbud]

Here... Hold mah beer... Watch this...

yup that would be most of where I live.

What about droping the barrel size to 1 inch would that make it any less dangerous. It would be around a 69 to 70 cal boolit at that point. Right?

[runfiverun]

i have made a 1" smooth bore cannon and a mold for pellets that's what i called them they looked like rabbit food pellets.
the pipe was seamless 2" on the outside and 1" inside diameter.
the stuff costs like 150.00 per foot.
welded up the carriage, and built a breech cap.
i then worked up some loads in it with bird shot,effectively making a punt gun.
then made the pellets,and shot those.
now if this was a rifled bbl it might have been real cool, it wasn't and it wasn't all that accurate.

i wasn't there [and have no idea of the powder used] when my b.i.l. somehow didn't understand that if 165 grs of powder [my load] was a safe load, that 200 of his [powder] wasn't.
we still haven't found the breech end of that thing.
but the slug covered 20 acres of pasture,a screen of cedar trees, a tire fence 12' high and went through the neighbors shop wall.
the kids said all you heard was the fooooom and buzzing noises going east and west.
something made from 200-300 psi pvc? .....pass,,,,,,,,, thanks.

[JohnFM]

? A one inch barrel is a 100 caliber, give or tale a tad thou.

[greenbud]

? A one inch barrel is a 100 caliber, give or tale a tad thou.

OK got me on that one.


something made from 200-300 psi pvc? .....pass,,,,,,,,, thanks.

yah that has already been covered that it would need to be a steal build

[Elkins45]

It would need to be an engineered steel build. Surely you're not considering building a device that uses gunpowder as the propellant? You're venturing into naval gunnery territory here.

Cast iron plumbing pipe scares the living **** of me. I'm really afraid what you're contemplating building could easily become a pipe bomb, and the line between bang and bomb is a fine one indeed. I fear the only indication you have crossed it would be when you meet Jesus.

[longbow]

Here is the type of mould you are looking for:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=97538

though this one is likely too big and heavier than you want.

I suspect you would need a mould to make a thin skirted Foster style slug to keep weight reasonable. If you aren't familiar, here is a Foster slug:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/481595/lyman-1-cavity-shotshell-foster-slug-bullet-mold-12-gauge-705-diameter-475-grain

or possibly more like the "pellet" idea:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/236595/lyman-1-cavity-shotshell-sabot-slug-bullet-mold-20-gauge-576-diameter-350-grain

We have a talented machinist here who just made a 12 ga. full bore version of the "pellet" so he may be able to (if interested) make a larger version for you:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=146715

Having said all that, I will agree with others that have issued warnings about being sure of what you are doing as this "spud gun" would be deadly if it exploded. Just making it out of steel pipe is not the answer, it has to be designed for the pressures involved and proof tested to ensure it is safe.

I will go out on a limb here and say that if designed appropriately I suspect you may be able to launch a reasonable weight slug at fairly low pressure. Big bore PCP air guns can develop considerable velocity with quite heavy "standard" bullets using SCUBA tank fills at around 3000 PSI and the big guns used in punkin chunkin are also effectively big PCP air guns.

I am not sure just how much pressure typical spud gun propellants like hairspray, propane, ether, etc. can develop but it will be nowhere near what even BP develops.

If you are serious about this, you should do some research and look up nitrogen cannons and design:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsGTWXeOIuU
http://www.wyssen.com/en/wac/products/avalancheur-lacroix/overview/

I am sure there must be some info on PCP "cannons" on the internet as well.

Can it be done? Yes. Can it be done safely? That's up to you.

Longbow

[greenbud]

Gun powder would be out right dumb.
I am debating compressed air now it would keep the psi levels controlable. I Think the first build would be a 3 inch pipe chamber and a 1 inch barrel. I found plans online to build one the shots marbles and photo and video of it in operation. I could shart with this as a small scale and then ramp it up to large scale.

on a side note would the boolit need to be lubed in some way. After reading the comments on the youtube channel I posted before. He admits he used gear lube in the barrel. This seems like a bad idea to me I think a form of wax would work better

[longbow]

At the velocities and pressures a compressed gas will provide, you will not likely need lube to prevent leading (air gun pellets don't use lube) and I suggest not using an interference fit of slug to barrel because there will be a lot of friction to overcome.

Better I think to use a plastic (or whatever) gas seal under a loose slug or use a sabot with minimal bore contact.

Longbow

[yottey]

Does the phraze"Hey yawl watch this"sound about right?

[greenbud]

Longbow
That was an awsome write up It was just what I needed to get motivated on this idea.

Thank you so much

I am now really exited to get into this idea

[greenbud]

I cant wait to lanch this thing right into my pond and video tape the impact HEHE

[ku4hx]

Please have a friend make a video of more than just a water impact. I mean, we've all seen kids do cannonballs off the diving board. What I'd like to see is progress as the device is made and then the moment of truth when it's finally "fired". Do you have an EMT friend who knows how to operate a video camera?

[greenbud]

actually one is an EMT another is a Firefighter and the other is an ex army. All three want In on the idea...

[mpmarty]

Mob mentality at work.

[NHGrumpyGramps]

I would advise against your venture, but to answer your question with regard to plaster of paris molds. Yes, this will work for lead, you have to make sure the mold is dry and all the moisture has been driven out by baking it around 300 degrees. If you don't get it dry you have the chance of a steam explosion- so heed this warning. I have made several buttstock weights for AR's using plaster of paris molds.

[JohnFM]

Far as that goes, you can pour lead into a mold made of paper and it'll work.
Gotta be stiff paper, we used to use pieces of file folders.

[greenbud]

I would advise against your venture, but to answer your question with regard to plaster of paris molds. Yes, this will work for lead, you have to make sure the mold is dry and all the moisture has been driven out by baking it around 300 degrees. If you don't get it dry you have the chance of a steam explosion- so heed this warning. I have made several buttstock weights for AR's using plaster of paris molds.

ok Then i think I will go with this.
I found many write ups on people firing golf balls out of them today. This gives me hope that the idea is do able. I may use the caliper of the golf ball as a base line.

[leadbutt]

I think that's about the equivalent of asking what's the best lube to use for inserting firecrackers into your anus. :(



Oh my GOD i cant stop laughing.

L. Bottoms

[ShootNSteel]

I've shot a large steel projectile from a pvc potato gun, But I've been engineering them since I was in highschool. It probably weighed around a pound, it was a 3" long piece of round I turned down on the lathe for a snug fit in the 1.5" schedule 40 barrel. It would pass clean through both sides of a 55gal steel drum. I wouldn't reccomend sombody try it, but I've shot my spud launcher thousands of times with anything and everything you can imagine in the barrel. Yes golf balls are very fun, but you don't find them to reload normally. I also made steel arrows that I'm sure would easily take out a deer.
My ultimate design after many changes is a 3" combustion chamber with a pistol grip and trigger with a grill lighter integrated into it feeding two spark plugs in series. I can switch out to one of many different sizes and lengths of barrels for the one reciever, even a silencer barrel just for fun.
I'd like to do the math on the pressure to send that chunk of steel downrange at say, 100 fps. When you shot it, you knew somthing big was coming out the other end, thats for sure.

ps. for golf balls you need to grind just a little bit of the circumference of the whole ball for a goof fit in 1.5" pipe, this gets a little annoying after a while.
As far as propellant, the cheapest maximum hold aerosol spray is the best everytime. You just got to watch how much you put in, kind of like a carbueretor, you have to get the air/fuel mixture just right.

[greenbud]

yup I just found a writup and video on the arrow idea It seems intoresting but not very impressive.

Going back to the pipe bomd statement after alot of research it seems the when they do blow its less then bomb type fail. Most of the time the barrel seems to go flying or the rear cap shots straight out the back. This being said I did find one case of a man being severly hurt by an exploding spud gun but the kept referancing Steal. this leads me to believe that the PVC with known fail points may be better to work with first

[ku4hx]

Mob mentality at work.

Larry, Moe and Curly?

[44man]

Personally, I would not do it! Kurly Kate does not come large enough. [smilie=w:

[ShootNSteel]

yup I just found a writup and video on the arrow idea It seems intoresting but not very impressive.


Oh it's pretty impressive to bury a 1/4" rod so deep into a tree that your never going to get it out:shock:

[greenbud]

Oh it's pretty impressive to bury a 1/4" rod so deep into a tree that your never going to get it out:shock:

well in that case I will keep it in mind

[greenbud]

ok in the pic what desighn of pellet would you use
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc179/greenbud23/pellet.png

I'm thinking 12, 1 , or 15 (but flatten the tip)

Also I am debating the use of a different metal.
I have cast aluminum many times in the past and very comfortable with how it works and sand casting it. Perhaps making an aluminum jacket with a lead core for the weight.

The first plan is to ram rod a few potatos threw a piece of pvc the same size as the barrel and weigh them out to get a base line of know safe weight. Im thinking 10 and take the average.

[geargnasher]

Greenbud, are you familiar with a book titled The Origin of Species?

Gear

[bootsnthejeep]

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1809683156316

I stand by my assertion that spun guns are fun ENOUGH, as is, to not warrant needless tempting of fate. Produce is plentiful and free, beer is cheap, and they practically GIVE AquaNet away. Come on, man. Let's not reinvent the wheel.

[ShootNSteel]

If i were to re-do it, I would take a peice of Alum, turn a 2" long or so slug down on the lathe to get the right Dia. , then bore the back end of it out almost all the way through. Leaving you with a sort of an Aluminum shot glass. With maybe 1/4" wall thickness all the way around it would be plenty strong and light enough.

[greenbud]

Greenbud, are you familiar with a book titled The Origin of Species?

Gear

good old darwin

[greenbud]

If i were to re-do it, I would take a peice of Alum, turn a 2" long or so slug down on the lathe to get the right Dia. , then bore the back end of it out almost all the way through. Leaving you with a sort of an Aluminum shot glass. With maybe 1/4" wall thickness all the way around it would be plenty strong and light enough.

thank you for the usefull ideas. I will think about this idea.

[greenbud]

ok so can we go back to ideas on post #35 please

[ku4hx]

Greenbud, are you familiar with a book titled The Origin of Species?

Gear

That rings a bell, something about "Natural Selection" and "The Survival of the Fittest". Aren't there some sort of annual awards in Darwin's name?

[greenbud]

That rings a bell, something about "Natural Selection" and "The Survival of the Fittest". Aren't there some sort of annual awards in Darwin's name?

he basically is stating that
A. I'm a moron that needs to be killed off
OR
B. I'm a new mutation that will improve the rest of the poulation

and now back to post 35 LOL

[ku4hx]

he basically is stating that
A. I'm a moron that needs to be killed off
OR
B. I'm a new mutation that will improve the rest of the poulation

and now back to post 35 LOL

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

[Goatwhiskers]

I think you got it jeffrey. Just thinkin' (dangerous) if you COULD make a spud gun hold together can you imagine the recoil? Goat

[greenbud]

I think you got it jeffrey. Just thinkin' (dangerous) if you COULD make a spud gun hold together can you imagine the recoil? Goat

see for reason of recoil and safety is why I think it would be better to weigh out a set of potatos and find and Metal type that doesn't exead the weight of a know good projectile.

I think I will make a drill lathe and turn some form ideas out of foam this weakend an maybe next weak cast them to compare the weight to a potato load of the same size.

[greenbud]

Ok well you asked for documentation soo here is the start of my project. After looking into the legality of this idea and build I have decided to procead. It is only ileagal if used in a malicias manner.

The desighn of the lancher (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_s_XOAMMqY)

[greenbud]

Just up dating with a test fire of the new desighn running on Propane
The test fire video Every kid needs a spud gun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpVe0FXWmGI)

[Frank46]

When I worked in a power plant we used to have to clean the condenser tubes of the various marine life in the East River NY. We had these little sponge rubber balls with an abrasive coating on them. We'd load up one section of tubes with these balls. There was a gun ( staying true to the gun theme here) and first pull of the trigger shot water into the tube and the second pull of the trigger shot compressed air. The air pressure was about 100psi. Those little balls and what ever was in the tubes came flying out and you could hear them impact the opposite end of the condenser. Someone made up a section of pipe the same size as the tubes and using the water/air mix could launch these little balls out of sight. This became pretty popular for awhile until someone got caught. Fun while it lasted. Frank

[dbarnhart]

Confession: I did something similar once. 2-inch pvc, 60psi compressed air, marshmellow peeps for projectiles. Very entertaining.

[40Super]

How about making the slugs out of a hardwood and painting them to look like lead,they'll go farther and probably reduce chamber pressures enough so only the three of you get mangled.:wink:

[greenbud]

How about making the slugs out of a hardwood and painting them to look like lead,they'll go farther and probably reduce chamber pressures enough so only the three of you get mangled.:wink:

Actually I found a wedsite that sells what they refer to as reusable spudgun ammo. They are made out of hard plastic with O rings to seal the barrel.

[bbqncigars]

I think I would avoid the high frictional coefficient of o-rings. A plastic skirt would be much better. Think shotgun wads. I would also advise remote firing of the first few rounds. Sandbags and a long string are you friends.

[greenbud]

^^^very good idea had not even considerd the shot gun slug desighn idea. My friend and I have been arguing the need of say wax or greese

[Freightman]

Very interesting! where do we send flowers?

[yottey]

I can think of it this way,Get the video-camera rolling and say" hey ya'll watch this"I think the best you can hope for is POOF no eyebrows the worst is film for the show 10,000 ways to die.
FWI it takes about 6 months for the eyebrows to grow back!

[Skipper488]

I can think of it this way,Get the video-camera rolling and say" hey ya'll watch this"I think the best you can hope for is POOF no eyebrows the worst is film for the show 10,000 ways to die.
FWI it takes about 6 months for the eyebrows to grow back!

Don't forget the "Hold my beer" part of that. LOL

[greenbud]

1,000 ways to die would rule my wife and kids would get to sell the rights to it and make alot more income then we do now.

As far as the beer goes that is out of the question as I have a set policy of no drinking if shooting anything at all. Paint ball to hunting riffle non alcaholic.

Please dont send Flowers email the youtube links to everyone saying look at this idiot. The effect would last far longer then any bouquet of flowers

Now back to the regularly scheduled program.

I am debating making the first few Projectiles out of clay that way if the presure is to much they would crack and give out. what do you think?

[nanuk]

i have made a 1" smooth bore cannon and a mold for pellets that's what i called them they looked like rabbit food pellets.
the pipe was seamless 2" on the outside and 1" inside diameter.
the stuff costs like 150.00 per foot.
welded up the carriage, and built a breech cap.
i then worked up some loads in it with bird shot,effectively making a punt gun.
then made the pellets,and shot those.
now if this was a rifled bbl it might have been real cool, it wasn't and it wasn't all that accurate.
....


in a past copy of Backwoodsman there was an article by a guy building a very basic 100Cal Muzzleloader shooting a round ball, from Sched80 seamless.
200gr of BP, and that 1" ball penetrated like nothing he had seen....

[greenbud]

thank you nanuk will look that up.
To date i have had a 14 and 27 inch tv donated to reserch by people that want ot see more youtube video LOL

[lbaize3]

You know, a plastic projectile with a steel insert, like the steel core bullet, would be interesting.... The steel insert will add weight to the projectile and the plastic would act as a sabot. Could have some possibilities.

[greenbud]

Very true but the cost to make it may be way to much? I could test it with something like putting the potato in the barrel and befor ram rodding it. Put a lag bolt down the midle of it with a cordless brill. Problem is that might compromise the potato to much.

Idea moment what if you lead corded the potato then carefully loaded it. Hehehe Cant wait to get my o2 tank refilled and go shoot some more.

[waksupi]

This is why you should not smoke marijuana and shoot.

[greenbud]

if thats a reference to my screen name you way off. Greenbud is a playoff on my real life last name

[greenbud]

Idea moment what if you lead corded the potato then carefully loaded it. Hehehe Cant wait to get my o2 tank refilled and go shoot some more.

Ok make that bad idea moment a friend just pointed out. Lead plus moisture is a bad idea.

[ShootNSteel]

I made a crude mold today out of some aluminum and came up with a lead projectile that is very well reasonably light enought to shoot. I was just messing around as there is too much thinking and not enough experimenting going on here. I attempted to try it in my gun but I discovered mice had built a nest in it and chewed through the ignition wiring,...
Heres a bad pic, it is what it is, just another thing to shoot out of a potato gun
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=43815&stc=1&d=1335402492

[greenbud]

^^^haste makes ER visits ^^^

Well looks like its going to rain all weakend for me. Hopefully I can get in some shop time and work on a foam pattern. I also need to come up with a way to hold it in the barrel so it doesnt just fall out but can still be fired easy. I am still thinking wax or grease of some type???

[ShootNSteel]

Are you insinuating that my projectile is unsafe to shoot out of a reasonably built potato gun?
Not only have I fired things much heavier than that, I am a Senior student studying Mechanical Engieering at a reputable school, and have been studying stress/strain and associated failures caused by such for the past 5 years. The casting was far from perfect, but not unsafe.

If you dont want the bullet to fall into the combustion chamber just build your gun with a female threaded coupler coming off the combustion chamber, and your barrel with a male threaded coupler. Not only will you be able to break down your gun and transport it easier, you can switch barrels whenever you want, and the projectile will not fall through the coupler, unless its terribly undersized.
Or just drive a screw through the cross section of the barrel just forward the combustion chamber, not that hard. Both methods work just fine, and they're easy too.

[Bullet Caster]

greenbud,

I cannot fathom a build of such a gun. The closest I ever got to making a spud gun was when I was a kid.

The school bus driver always had his bus parked in his driveway just down the road from where I lived. Early one morning before school, we (a buddy of mine) went and stuffed a potato into the exhaust pipe of the bus and found a nearby place from which to watch all the action. After starting the bus (it really had a muffled sound) a few minutes passed and then poof, the potato came out and went nearly 100 feet. We busted out laughing and ran like hell.

Just be safe. I don't know how old you are, but I do caution you so that you may live to be at least 90. Spud guns are one thing but if you plan on using any type of powder (propellent) other than what you've mentioned I'd strongly advise you not to do so.

Firearm manufacturers have the equipment available to test chambers and bbls. and do it safely. BC

[bullpen7979]

Are you asking about how to cast a lead bullet to shoot out of a PVC potato cannon?. I think that's about the equivalent of asking what's the best lube to use for inserting firecrackers into your anus. :(


Oh my GOD i cant stop laughing.

L. Bottoms

Yeah, that. Every time I think about this phrase I crack up.
And no, that pun was not intended. Just woke up, waiting for the coffee to finish....

No offense to the OP. I'm sure with the proper amount of engineering , determination, AND caution, success can be had.

[greenbud]

Thank you bullet caster for your insite.
At the ripe old age of 28. I have earned many a scar to show for not thinking thinks out. In my younger years. If I can get the wife and kid to go away tommorrow. I hope to lath some foam ideas out and make a mold of what ever one I like most.

Dear ShootNSteel
Your original post in this thread was less then well written and lacking in one key picture. had you been in my shoes reading it you to would have measured it up as lacking. Please fix the pick and come in with more info on your project

[greenbud]

No offense to the OP. I'm sure with the proper amount of engineering , determination, AND caution, success can be had.

Actually the more reserch I do on it the more I find out people that have lanched everything from hard plastic to steal. I simply wish to take it to the next level. Most spud guns take a little bark off a tree. I want to take down the whole tree. In fact I found one write up of a guy filling redbull cans with concreat and shooting them threw 24inch tvs.

[429421Cowboy]

Oh my gosh, everytime i have to leave this forum for a few days and come back i find things like this... I have seen many different variations on the spud gun concept, on my part of the prairie long winters+open spaces=bad ideas. The scariest design i ever saw was a driveshaft with the knuckle cut off and a spike welded onto the spline to get jammed into the ground and launch a pop can full of rocks with two empty 12 gauge shells used like a dipper worth of blackpowder, that was a scary piece of equipment and i declined the chance to fire it after seeing the loading operation. The two most advanced forms of cannon were both made out of Shelby Seamless pipe, which would seem like the only safe method to make a large gun for shooting softballs and bowling balls. One was made by a friend in high school, the other by my best friend's shop teacher. While i have made several golf ball cannons that run on oxy-acthelyne torch gas so far at my ripe age of 19, i can't see how any good at all could come of this project, or even how practical or accurate it could be.

[greenbud]

^^^ only one way to know try it and find out. But i do thank you for all the info.
I hope to see you bring more of your experiance to the table as i progress.

[ShootNSteel]

Dear ShootNSteel
Your original post in this thread was less then well written and lacking in one key picture. had you been in my shoes reading it you to would have measured it up as lacking. Please fix the pick and come in with more info on your project

I have no project here, I've given up on potato guns for the most part when I graduated highschool. All I did was to show you it could be done, easliy, as a hundred thousand other people have probably discovered by now.
Im just not totally impressed with them anymore. If you build one of those $10,000 "potato guns" that shoot mach one speed I'd be interrested, that's cool I guess for about 10 minutes.
You believe you are re-engineering the potato gun, well there are hundreds of people doing that everyday. The only thing you can say is, well I think it's better, or I think it's safer, because without proper testing and knowledge, you never know.

[greenbud]

All I did was to show you it could be done.

Um for the third time Working viewable pic would be nice.

This website Is to help people not to harase them about there Ideas and plans. Had you read everything. You would have found I posted very clearly That i am in no way Original in this idea. After owning and or shooting many weapons over the years each intreaging me at one point or another. The potato gun just happens to be this years crazey of choice. As I got bored with them when I was 14 after deciding it was much easyer to hunt a squirel with a 22. But now that I have a son the fever is back as a fun weakend thing to do.

I am not content to be one of these guys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qcjiCPMgLc Some one who never strived to go the extra inch or mile to make it better.

To everyone I am glad for all your help this weakend I decided to take apart the entire front suspension on my 84 SS monte carlo to rebuild and it ate up far more of my time then expected. I hope to get to work on a foam template soon and a modification of a golf ball loading system I found thanks to the help from ShootNSteel and others. Now back to work and enjoying the less then *********t comments that pop up on my youtube channel.

Greenbud

[429421Cowboy]

Ok i checked out your Youtube vid's and had some thoughts; As stated before, the only people i know that have attempted to shoot something so heavy have used seamless pipe, sch 160 or better, so i am not clear as to your instance on using PVC, your channel shows that you have the equipment and skills to easily do the limited amount of metal work it would take to do a all steel build. Secondly, if it can safely launch a 6-8 oz spud, why not stick with a 6 oz slug if you really want to do lead/zinc? A 2642 grain lead lump doesn't have to be going very fast to get whatever job done you think you must need it to do. Also i am curious as to what propelent you have settled on? I must say that H&R makes an excelent single shot 45/70 that costs very, very little (compared to an ER visit) that will be infinitely more accurate, extremely powerful, able to load from mild to wild (WILD), you can cast many huge slugs for it in tons of designs for less lead and most of all it is a proven, safe and well known platform. Just my thoughts, take from them what you will.

[gofastman]

If you want a sweet spud gun round, an empty caulk tube fits perfectly down a 2" barrel.
These (http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/en_US/shop/details.cfm?R=C2219125-5056-900B-102E-83BAE0578E53:en_US) work even better, they freaking fly!!! no joke I think I sent one almost a mile :shock:

[greenbud]

very cool I will look into the idea

[ku4hx]

Oh my gosh, everytime i have to leave this forum for a few days and come back i find things like this... I have seen many different variations on the spud gun concept, on my part of the prairie long winters+open spaces=bad ideas. The scariest design i ever saw was a driveshaft with the knuckle cut off and a spike welded onto the spline to get jammed into the ground and launch a pop can full of rocks with two empty 12 gauge shells used like a dipper worth of blackpowder, that was a scary piece of equipment and i declined the chance to fire it after seeing the loading operation. The two most advanced forms of cannon were both made out of Shelby Seamless pipe, which would seem like the only safe method to make a large gun for shooting softballs and bowling balls. One was made by a friend in high school, the other by my best friend's shop teacher. While i have made several golf ball cannons that run on oxy-acthelyne torch gas so far at my ripe age of 19, i can't see how any good at all could come of this project, or even how practical or accurate it could be.

Ain't it the truth...